Decision making at substantiation in cases involving racialized families: Child protection workers' perceptions of influential factors.

• Child protection workers assigned for initial assessment need to navigate the particularities of the intercultural context while also endorsing the socio-judicial mandate of initial assessment. • Five factors emerged as having an influence on the decision making of CPWs assessing racialized families: 1) time delays; 2) the role of the worker, 3) type of maltreatment at stake, 4) the feeling of being unprepared for the work and 5) attitudes of families and workers • This study reveals the need to consider the effects of racialization, immigration and systemic discrimination in assessing racialized families, but it also stresses the importance of institutional support of child protection workers. This exploratory study discusses the factors that influence the decision-making process of child protection workers in assessing the situation of racialized families in Montreal (Canada). Drawing on grounded theory methodology, this qualitative analysis is based on 18 in-depth semi-structured interviews and one focus group with child protection workers (CPWs). The findings indicate that, from the point of view of the CPWs, five factors have an influence on their decision making: (1) time delays; (2) the capacity to inform and educate the families, (3) type of maltreatment reported, (4) unreadiness for the work and (5) attitudes of racialized families and workers. Understanding the workers' perspectives on influential factors in their work helps us identify the challenges of daily practice and explore the complexity of decision-making under the light of personal, relational, professional and organizational factors and their specific influence on child protection practice with racialized families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]